Dementia with Lewy bodies is a common dementia characterized by changes in sleep, behavior, cognition, movement, and automatic bodily functions. Symptoms worsen over time until cognitive decline interferes with normal daily functioning. The core features are REM sleep behavior disorder (in which people act out their dreams), visual hallucinations, marked fluctuations in attention or alertness, and parkinsonism. The exact cause is unknown, but involves deposits of abnormal clumps of protein in the brain, known as Lewy bodies. Gastrointestinal and heart function can be affected. Definitive diagnosis usually requires an autopsy, and a probable diagnosis—based on symptoms and tests—is often missed. Management of the many symptoms is challenging and involves multiple specialties. There is no cure or medication to stop the disease progression. After the suicide of Robin Williams (pictured) in 2014, his autopsy found that diffuse Lewy bodies explained his symptoms.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1378:

Unrepresented labourers in Florence revolted and violently took over the city's government (depicted) to grant them political office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciompi_Revolt

1877:

Much of central Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was burned and looted during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_railroad_strike_of_1877

1977:

Libyan forces carried out a raid at Sallum, sparking a four-day war with Egypt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian%E2%80%93Libyan_War

2013:

Nour Ahmad Nikbakht, an Iranian diplomat in Yemen, was kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants and held hostage for the next two years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Iranian_diplomat_kidnapping

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

aventurine: 1. A kind of brownish glass containing gold-coloured spangles. 2. (mineralogy, by extension) A variety of translucent quartz, spangled throughout with scales of yellow mica. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aventurine

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When it comes to space, I see it as my job to build infrastructure the hard way — I'm using my resources to put in place heavy-lifting infrastructure so the next generation of people can have a dynamic, entrepreneurial explosion into space. … I want thousands of entrepreneurs doing amazing things in space, and to do that we need to dramatically lower the cost of access to space.   --Jeff Bezos https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos